Viola Davis: I'm very embarrassed about my first meeting with Meryl Streep

Viola Davis feels "very embarrassed" about her first encounter with Meryl Streep.

The 53-year-old actress worked with the Hollywood icon on the 2008 period drama 'Doubt', but Viola still feels a bit uncomfortable when she remembers her behaviour on the film's set.

Asked what her first day of filming with Meryl was like, Viola told the New York Times newspaper: "Absolutely terrifying, but not because of anything that she was projecting. She could not be any less intimidating. Everything was coming from me, 100 percent.

"It was a rehearsal. We rehearsed it first because it's based on a play. So I showed up an hour early, and I just stared at the door waiting for her to come in. And I think I probably ran up to her when she first came through the door, which I'm sure she's used to, but when I look at it in hindsight I'm very embarrassed."

Meanwhile, Viola recently slammed the race pay gap in Hollywood.

The acclaimed actress is adamant that the only way the problem can be resolved is if there is more diversity at the top of the movie and TV industries.

She said: "We're not even invited to the table. I go to a lot of women's events here in Hollywood, and they're filled with female CEOs, producers and executives, but I'm one of maybe five or six people of colour in the room."